Short Film Analysis : BBC Student Work

Clip 1- Coming Of Age

A boy suddenly finds himself facing huge responsibilities in a dangerous, dystopian world set in 2035 Britain. He must overcome his fears and face his enemies to save the people he loves. Coming of Age was shot on a micro budget of just £150 with a tiny crew of just four people. The main character is about 16 years old and he has to look after his sister who is sick. The boy has lot of flashbacks of the troubles he has had to cope with whilst trying to survive. The camera uses lots of techniques, a dominant one being a close up to express depressive facial expressions and does really well in representing sheer emotion. Some of the locations are very effective to the video; long shots are used over hills to show his responsibility against the huge scenery he is surrounded by. With the shots being so personal you really feel like you are the main character and can identify with his struggles. The violence is put into tension rather than horror, the quiet music and lack of dialogue makes it a lot more meaningful and less artificial. When running the cutting edits make the pace seem a lot faster and also uses the blackout edit which increases its theme throughout.

Clip 2- Two & Two

In a drab, anonymous grey school governed by a strict authoritarian regime, an apparently unremarkable day is turned on its head following a seemingly ridiculous announcement.

Disbelieving at first, the all-male, identically uniformed pupils are informed that what they had always been taught as fact is no longer true. When the incredulous students speak out, what initially seems laughably absurd becomes desperately real as they are forced to question how far they will go to stand up for their beliefs. Two & Two is an allegory for the absurdness of dictatorship and tyranny - and the resilience of the human spirit. The editing cuts are hardly noticeable, the scene is shot in one classroom so have few diverse angle shots, one being from the back of the room to display the whole scene. When the main characters emerge they have medium-close ups to display emotion such as anger and confusion.

Clip 3 - The Last Regal Kingsize

On the day of a militant religious gathering, Stewy, a disturbed Protestant boy seizes his chance to join a gang of local delinquents. For the prize of a packet cigarettes he entices a young boy out from the safety of his home. The result is devastating. While their fathers march through the decaying streets of Glasgow their sons take a sinister journey into the dark heart of modern Britain. Duty, Service, Glory - The Last Regal Kingsize reveals the reality behind belonging... is betrayal. A ground-breaking synthesis of ethnographic study, real-life characters and hypnotic music and photography, this poetic but unsentimental short is the first drama from acclaimed documentary-maker Simon Hipkins. The video tried to demonstrate modern social realism. As it starts off with a young boy we instantly know he is the main character, and we begin to feel sympathetic towards his character as we see his perspective. The music is mellow and it plays as background music to the strong Scottish dialogue. The cuts are invisible which would be expected in social realism type movies. The camera angles are very basic, no creative camera movement is used as they don’t want to over complicate the message of the film, or create forced opinions on the audience through creating irony etc.